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The post-Sept. 11 stereotype of Muslims is that they are terrorists and religious zealots who hate non-Muslims. Some clearly are. But the blanket demonization of 1.4 billion people is partly designed to divert attention from endless American wars on Muslim nations, American support for Arab/Muslim despots and also for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Professor Izzeldin Abuelaish of the University of Toronto contradicts the clichés about Arabs and Muslims. He is the Gaza gynecologist who has come to symbolize the plight of Palestinians.

His parents lost their land, which eventually became the Ariel Sharon farm. He grew up in Jabaliya refugee camp but went on to study in Egypt, Britain, Belgium, Italy and the U.S. He was the first Palestinian doctor to practise in Israel.

An early advocate of non-violence, the Hebrew-speaking Abuelaish was described by an Israeli colleague as “a magical, secret bridge between Israelis and Palestinians.”

In 2009, he lost his wife to leukemia and was preparing to move to either Harvard or Toronto. Then came the Israeli siege of Gaza. He lost three daughters and a niece to Israeli shells. With his five surviving children, he came to Canada as professor at the U of T School of Public Health.

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Transcending the tragedy, he wrote I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey, a moving ode to forgiveness and reconciliation.

An instant bestseller, it has been translated into 17 languages. He has travelled the world, accepting awards, honorary citizenships and keys to cities. The Belgian parliament nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize for being “an inspiring and authoritative new voice in the tradition of Thoreau, Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.”

He has been called the Nelson Mandela of the Middle East.

His admirers include Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter; Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel and John Polanyi; Amir Peretz, former defence minister of Israel and Bernard Kouchner, former foreign minister of France; and Heather Reisman of Chapters Indigo bookstores.

But some Canadian Arabs felt he was being used in the propaganda that Arabs and Muslims would rather hate than make peace.

“They are suspicious of him. They think he’s selling the Palestinian soul in exchange for personal rewards,” says Judith Ramirez, a longtime pro-Palestinian advocate, who helped settle the Abuelaish family.

Another who helped is Raja Khouri, former president of the Canadian Arab Federation. When I Shall Not Hate was released, he had Abuelaish speak at Beit Zatoun (House of Olive), a cultural centreat Markham and Bloor, and ran into opposition from “a small but vocal minority.”

“Some did not like his message: ‘Why is he giving Israel a free pass?’ But he’s out there breaking the cycle of misunderstanding. We’re always told, ‘Where are the moderate Arabs?’ Well, here’s one. Talk to him.

“He has made a number of people in the Jewish community think.”

Many strongly support Abuelaish’s foundation, Daughters for Life, that promotes health, education and leadership training for both Israeli and Arab girls. He donates his speaking fees and cash awards to the foundation that held its first dinner Tuesday night, supported by people of all faiths.

Toronto poet and singer-songwriter Joseph Maviglia, who was barred at the Beit Zatoun event from reading his tribute poem “I Abuelaish,” recited it to loud applause:

In this war of blood and Abraham / I rattle no drum . . .

“This is a very Canadian evening,” said Khouri, a Christian.

Earlier in the day, Abuelaish told me he finds his inner strength from Islam, and also his faith in non-violence.

Growing up in the refugee camp, he went to a madrassa after regular school hours — “there were no playgrounds, nothing else to do,” and the seminary paid a stipend that his family could use.

He memorized the 86,000-word Qur’an and won two awards of about $500 each. “Both times I ran to my mother to hand her the money. My parents had cut their food rations to educate their children.”

He says he never leaves home without praying. He fasts in the month of Ramadan, when he leads his children in nighttime prayers reciting the entire Qur’an in daily installments.

In my 30-minute telephone conversation with him, he cites the Arabic holy text six times to augment his arguments, such as: 13.11 — Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they change that which is in their hearts.

2:216 Perhaps you hate a thing but it is good for you; perhaps you love a thing but it’s bad for you. Only Allah knows, while you know not.

Abuelaish is equally well-versed in the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad that Muslims try and emulate. He tells me:

“You know, the Prophet — peace be upon him — wasn’t a hater. He was a man of infinite kindness, sympathy, generosity, mercy and forgiveness. And he said: ‘One who is not grateful to mankind is not grateful to Allah.’

“But many Muslims don’t learn Islam, don’t practise Islam these days.

“Some people were expecting me to hate. But we are not going to get our rights by hating. I should go to everyone and open their eyes to the plight of the Palestinians.

“You know Heather Reisman told me: ‘You’ve changed me.’

“I respect those who demonstrate. But what have they achieved? Some of them are talking to themselves.

“I can fight without a gun. It is important to speak the universal language of mutual understanding.”

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